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KCSOS presents expanded curriculum, TK and STEAM supports; program leaders report growth in bilingual and TK initiatives
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Summary
Kern County Superintendent of Schools curriculum team presented a countywide overview of curriculum, multilingual, TK and STEAM supports, citing numbers on district reach, teacher certifications, training days and student programs.
Kern County Superintendent of Schools (KCSOS) staff outlined expanded curriculum and instructional supports the office provides to local districts, spotlighting early education (TK), multilingual programs, teacher certifications and STEAM expanded-learning initiatives.
Dr. Cole Sampson, KCSOS chief curriculum and instruction officer, told the board the county team supports 41 districts and five charter schools (about 88% of local LEAs) and offers more than 2,600 contracted support days on site. He summarized a multi-pronged strategy of content training, classroom demonstration and coaching follow-up intended to help districts sustain new instructional practices.
Highlights and numbers cited - District coverage and supports: KCSOS supports 41 Kern County districts and five charter schools, delivering more than 2,600 contracted on-site support days and more than 75 centralized trainings and networks; the office plans to expand centralized offerings to North Kern and East Kern next school year. - Bilingual and dual-immersion work: The county is lead region for Project GLAAD and expected to be certified by September to train teachers across pre-K/TK, K-8 and Spanish language tracks. Sampson said the county has "already certified 125 teachers as of this year" and will help create about 125 new bilingual-authorized teachers in Kern over the grant life and 350 across the region. - TK and early literacy: KCSOS's TK work included distribution of 285 block sets to every TK classroom in the county and an asynchronous structured literacy course targeted at sustainability for transient teacher staffing. The office produced a TK video series capturing exemplary classroom practice to support district implementation. - Literacy and family engagement: The county relaunched the Kern County Reading Project and described family literacy events (lunch-time events, mobile book carts, book vending token programs) with some sites reporting family turnout as high as 81%. - STEAM and expanded learning: The Steamyard facility opened as a hands-on lab and field-trip site; KCSOS runs summer camps and after-school STEAM offerings across three sites (CALM, Kern County Museum, Buena Vista Natural History Museum) with plans to operate field trips and teacher training. Sampson said the county now operates about 130 after-school camp days annually and will serve nearly 4,000 students in summer camps; the department also reported more than 100 mentors recruited (college STEM majors) to staff programs and grow future teacher pipelines.
Sampson stressed a full-support model: initial theory and content training, classroom demonstration and repeated coaching follow-ups. He said the curriculum team is developing asynchronous materials and regional partnerships with local higher-education institutions (Cal State Bakersfield, Bakersfield College and regional CSU partners) to grow teacher pathways and certification opportunities.
Board follow-up and access Trustees asked where event and training dates are posted; Sampson said schedules appear under the KCSOS "Student Events" tab and that the office will circulate a full 2025-26 events calendar to the board to aid planning.
